The Bureau of Standards and Appeals approved building a two-story home on this narrow, long lot at the southwest corner of Decker and Orange avenues. The local civic association and Community Board 1 opposed construction on the site, which has a minuscule frontage of 17.21 feet on Decker Avenue, and a length of 163.96 feet on Orange Avenue.
(Staten Island Advance/Virginia N. Sherry)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - PORT RICHMOND -

Neighborhood homeowners remain incredulous that New York
City's Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) voted unanimously last September to
approve construction of a one-family, two-story house on a long and narrow
corner lot at Decker and Orange avenues. The lot measures 17.2 feet
feet wide at its Decker Avenue frontage, and narrows to a mere 11 feet at
its rear.

Eileen Martin, a Decker Avenue homeowner and recording secretary of the Decker Avenue Civic Association, criticized "the absurd size" of the land on which the house will be constructed, ruining "a lovely tree-lined street with single- and two-family detached homes, each with space between it and its neighboring homes." New zoning regulations, designed "to protect our borough from haphazard building" were "carelessly set aside" in this case, she charged.

Her husband, A. James Tortora, who's lived on Orange Avenue for 59 years, is outraged. "Our local politicians were made aware of the community feelings, and did nothing to prevent this travesty," he told the Advance.

"The BSA . . . in its infinite wisdom unanimously approved this building," he added. "I defy any politician to meet with my neighbors and (me), and have him show us how this fits in our area."

The Decker Avenue Civic Association opposed the construction, and Community Board 1, in a 27-0 vote in November 2010, disapproved the application for the variances, finding the building "out of character" with the neighborhood, among other reasons.

The BSA granted a zoning variance for construction of a home at 8 Orange Ave., with a unanimous 5-0 vote on Sept. 13, 2011.

The agency noted "the site's irregular shape and narrow width," and that the land was owned by the City from 1954 until it was sold to a private party in 1993.

"If the City did not intend for the subject lot to be developed, it could have retained ownership of the lot," the decision read. "The Board finds that the cited unique physical condition creates practical difficulties in developing the site" in compliance with existing zoning.

With respect to the minuscule amount of space between the existing adjacent Decker Avenue home and the pending new construction, and "in response to the concerns raised by the Opposition regarding the effect of the proposed development on the adjacent home, the Board notes that the proposed 3-foot, 2-inch side yard along the southern lot line provides 8 feet of open space between the proposed home and the adjacent home".

ON THE WAY

The BSA's ruling authorized construction of a two-story, 1,344-square-foot, single-family home, with an entrance on Decker Avenue and parking for a minimum of two cars, to the rear of the home along its Orange Avenue side.

The agency approved the parameters of the house as follows: * No front yard along the northern lot line. * A side yard with a width of 3-feet, 2-inches along the southern lot line. * A front yard with a depth of 18 feet, 11 inches along the eastern lot line, and * A side yard of 86-feet along western lot line.

The construction would not "alter the essential character of the surrounding neighborhood," BSA concluded. The agency justified its decision, in pertinent part, by stating that "the Board finds that this proposal is the minimum necessary to afford the owner relief".

The full text of the 3-page decision is available on the BSA website: www.nyc.gov/html/bsa/home.html. BSA commissioners The New York City Board of Standards and Appeals is comprised of five, full-time commissioners, appointed by the Mayor, pursuant to the 1991 City Charter.